Authentic Sichuan in Taiping, Taichung

135 Xinxing Road, Taichung City, 

Taichung City 411, Taiwan

太平區新興路135號

0962 097 758

https://m.facebook.com/1714055208819059

        I had been pining for authentic Sichuan food in Taichung,Taiwan since I retired here eight years ago. I'm sure there must be a few in Taipei but that's an hour and $50 high speed rail round-trip ticket away. The Sichuan food establishments here are mostly watered down versions with a vague spicy taste that Taiwanese can tolerate. There are plenty of hot pot restaurants that offer a Sichuan soup base but that is mere mimicry. All that changed last year in a chance visit to a little Sichuan rest  my wife spied on-line, a place that happens to be a ten minute ride away from Beitun district in Taiping. Thank goodness for the fiery hell of delight from Chengdu Sour Vegetable/Fish Restaurant 

A perfect set of fiery delights with only their delicious ma-po tofu
not pictured; her specialty is authentic hot pot, by the way.  

Chicken with a sauce that you better not throw out when
the meat is eaten; we bring it home to mix with wanton for
a delicious continuation of heat in the home 

Green beans deep fried with garlic and pepper kernels
 so salty hot that I won't let a nib get by my chopsticks
till it is all tucked into my mouth  

Lamb with scallions in a sauce of its own,
I must emphasize; all the heat is of different
texture and taste. No two fires taste the same.

     The chef, as sweet as her dishes are hot, will be glad to chat with you if she's not busy in the kitchen. She is a Sichuan native who moved to Taiwan from Chengdu a number of years ago to be a foreign bride. Her skills of child-raising and cooking were put to use as her family grew, but now she is  bravely flying solo.   

          The chef was shown a menu from a five-star Sichuan restaurant my wife and I frequented in New York City and recognized every dish; she could make them all if she wasn't a one-woman operation. In fact she has received offers to make her establishment larger and franchised out but she refuses to let business get in the way of being a single working mother and letting the quality control get out of her hands; she is happy to serve her loyal customers that come from all over Taiwan to taste her dishes in her small establishment. 

          I highly recommend you get there early, especially on the weekend when the six large tables are filled to the brim; a weekday lunch is my favorite time. Certainty you can Uber or Food Panda it to your home just the same, but she places in-house customers in line first so deliveries may have to wait. 

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